When Xu Ruobing’s hand slipped inside her clothes, Jiang Lai’s hands weakly rested on her shoulders, instinctively pushing Xu Ruobing off of her.
She pushed, then glanced at the car window where the outside world was blurred and indistinct.
Her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Jiang Lai deeply resisted being so exposed, even here in the deserted underground parking garage, even inside the car—it made her feel so insecure.
“Ruobing, if you want to stop now, can we not do this here?”
“That’s fine.”
Compared to the passionate, almost devouring kiss earlier, Xu Ruobing was now calm—serious and cold as she usually was in front of others, even a little distant.
Jiang Lai looked at Xu Ruobing’s sudden change in mood and couldn’t help but clench her hands, thinking from the bottom of her heart that maybe she had done something wrong just now—had she upset Xu Ruobing?
“I’m sorry…”
“You should be saying sorry, but not to me—say sorry to yourself.”
Though reluctant to let go of the softness and warmth still in her hands, Xu Ruobing withdrew her hand from inside Jiang Lai’s clothes as she prepared to say what she needed to say next.
“Jiang Jiang, I don’t need you to do anything for me. Everything I’ve done has been of my own free will; I never thought to ask anything from you. You absolutely don’t have to think about roughing me up or anything like that.
Even if it’s about repaying me, Jiang Jiang, you can choose other ways—not like this.”
Xu Ruobing’s body wasn’t cold.
The chaotic kiss just now, the close breaths, stimulated her spirit more than anything else.
Her feelings came quickly.
But now was not the time to indulge desires.
Xu Ruobing could only sternly suppress the desire in her heart and face Jiang Lai in the most serious way possible.
“I like you—my mind, my body, my whole self craves to merge with you. But I don’t want you to force yourself on me. What I want is something natural, something that flows effortlessly—not like this.
Besides, I can feel that you’re not ready yet. Jiang Jiang, when you were touching me just now, your waist and back were trembling.”
“That’s only because your hands are a bit cold, Ruobing…”
“Jiang Jiang, you’re so cute~”
Xu Ruobing smiled softly.
Her hand had been inside the clothes for so long, already warm from holding onto Jiang Lai.
If her hand really were cold, even if Jiang Lai pulled her hand back, Xu Ruobing wouldn’t have allowed it.
“So don’t come up with those silly excuses to argue with me. Don’t you think I know you well enough? There’s nothing on your entire body that’s as stubborn as your mouth.”
Everything Xu Ruobing said was a damn truth.
Jiang Lai had no rebuttal because every word pierced straight into her heart, making her lower her head in shame and let out a whimper like a young beast.
“I understand.”
“Then rest properly in the back seat for a while. On the way home, you can take a quick nap.”
On the drive back, every time they passed a traffic light, Xu Ruobing’s gaze would flicker in the rearview mirror toward the sleeping Jiang Lai.
Even now, Xu Ruobing still didn’t fully understand Jiang Lai.
There were so many unknowns, so much mystery about her.
But that sense of mystery was the most attractive thing—like a charm that made you want to unravel her piece by piece.
But Xu Ruobing didn’t care what Jiang Lai had been through in the past.
What mattered was that Jiang Lai, in her hands now, had to shine her brightest.
She could feel how many restraints and chains weighed on Jiang Lai.
She always worried too much and could never accept others’ kindness with peace of mind.
Sometimes there was simply no need to overthink, yet Jiang Lai always complicated simple things—and that only made Xu Ruobing’s heart ache more.
But the strange feeling in Xu Ruobing went far beyond all this.
She wished she hadn’t scared Jiang Lai in the parking lot just now.
Jiang Lai slept soundly in the back seat, but Xu Ruobing’s mind was still tangled in that fleeting intimacy.
She felt as if her throat and lower abdomen were set ablaze, burning unbearably hot.
She only meant to scare Jiang Lai a little, but she hadn’t expected to fully awaken her own desires.
At this moment, Jiang Lai was sound asleep, only waking up when they reached the apartment.
But before they parted completely, Xu Ruobing suddenly wanted Jiang Lai to work overtime for her tonight.
“Find a quiet place tonight. I want to go over the livestream process with you.”
Jiang Lai had been practicing alone this whole time, and the livestream was in two days.
It made sense to review it tonight.
Xu Ruobing’s time was precious, so being able to free up some evening hours was already her sacrificing her own rest.
Tonight, even if Jiang Lai had other things to do, she had to clear this time.
Chi Yingyu’s apartment no longer felt small or cozy like before.
Everything on the shelves had been packed up and boxed, piled in the corners of the living room.
Jiang Lai hadn’t realized how much stuff was actually in this little apartment.
Even though the small living room was almost full, it only accounted for two-thirds of the packing.
Larger items and things in the kitchen and bedroom still needed to be moved later, with the final cleaning reserved for the last day before leaving.
Thinking about how busy both adults had been recently, all the packing was handed over to Jiang Leyi.
The daughter was working hard—waking up early every morning to come clean the apartment, then going back in the afternoon.
Since Jiang Lai and Chi Yingyu didn’t know when they would return, it was better for their daughter to go home and rest rather than wait around.
More importantly, the apartment wasn’t suitable for resting anymore.
Chi Yingyu had been so busy, even when she got home, she had to work for a long time.
There was no separate study or office space—the only options were the living room or bedroom.
But Jiang Lai needed to practice out loud, and they couldn’t be in the same room, so there wasn’t even a place to rest.
Jiang Leyi had to run back and forth a lot.
Jiang Lai thought that once she got paid, she could buy her daughter a gift.
Now, with just a couple of days left before moving, she was about to resume living with her sister-in-law.
Just thinking about her sister-in-law made Jiang Lai realize that all boundaries between them would soon blur.
Though Jiang Lai and Chi Yingyu had no blood relation, Chi Yingyu was the most important family member in Jiang Lai’s life.
Jiang Lai wanted to always stay with her sister-in-law—that was the inertia from their past decade of experiences, but it was only as family.
And Jiang Lai knew very well that such feelings were wrong.
The thoughts in her heart restricted Chi Yingyu.
True love meant wanting the other to become better, not imprisoning them at your side.
Jiang Lai hoped Chi Yingyu could calm down.
With their daughter around, no matter what, she would at least hold back some.
There was no need to worry about anything extreme.
Back at the apartment, Jiang Lai had nothing special to do.
Like the past few days, after making dinner, she continued packing.
When the time agreed with Xu Ruobing arrived, she would find a quiet, undisturbed place to make the call.
After finishing dinner, Jiang Lai took a few bites and put the rest into an insulated lunchbox for Chi Yingyu to eat when she returned from work.
With everything done, Jiang Lai went back to the bedroom, took the computer her daughter had brought her, and reviewed the entire livestream process.
As she was rehearsing with her headphones on, suddenly the computer’s chat software popped up a video call from Xu Ruobing.
Hadn’t they agreed it would be a phone call?
How did it suddenly turn into a video?
Though puzzled, Jiang Lai tidied her clothes and accepted the video call.
The computer screen revealed Xu Ruobing’s stunning face—languid, half-lidded eyes framed by long, thick lashes that made her gaze even more seductive.
There was a faint smile in her eyes as she stared at Jiang Lai through the screen.
“Why are you dressed so properly even at night? I thought you’d be like me…”
Xu Ruobing’s last sentence stretched out, her voice trailing off as the camera slowly tilted downward.
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